Electrical cable connecting apparatus, method for connecting electrical cable, and image forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus main body (apparatus main body) and an automatic document feeder mounted on the apparatus main body are provided, and a cable-side connector provided at a front end of an electrical cable extending from the automatic document feeder is removably connected to a board-side connector provided on a circuit board of the apparatus main body. In this configuration, an opening portion is provided in a back face of a housing of the apparatus main body at a position opposing the board-side connector, a lid that covers this opening portion is attached to a front end portion of the electrical cable by an attachment member, and this lid is configured so as to be attachable to the opening portion by a hook and fixing by screwing by means of a screw insertion boss.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on PatentApplication No. 2011-249647 filed in Japan on Nov. 15, 2011, the entirecontents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electrical cable connectingapparatus including a first apparatus, and a second apparatus that ismounted on the first apparatus, and having a configuration in which acable-side connector provided at a front end of an electrical cableextending from the second apparatus is removably connected to aboard-side connector provided on a circuit board of the first apparatus,a method for connecting an electrical cable, and an image formingapparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In a conventional image forming apparatus, an automatic document feederis mounted on an image forming apparatus main body equipped with animage formation portion, a scanner portion, and a paper conveyanceportion, and the image forming apparatus main body and the automaticdocument feeder are combined by connecting a cable-side connectorprovided at a front end portion of an electrical cable extending fromthe automatic document feeder to a board-side connector provided on acircuit board installed in the image forming apparatus main body.

In the case of an image forming apparatus having such a configuration,when the automatic document feeder is removed from the image formingapparatus main body, conventionally, a backplate of the image formingapparatus main body is removed before the cable-side connector of theelectrical cable is disconnected from the board-side connector. Also,when the automatic document feeder is attached to the image formingapparatus main body, after the backplate of the image forming apparatusmain body is removed, the cable-side connector of the electrical cableof the automatic document feeder is connected to the board-sideconnector, and then, the backplate is attached to a back face of theimage forming apparatus main body.

Operations as described above are not particularly problematic duringproduction in a factory, but, for example, when replacement or the likeof the automatic document feeder is performed at an installation siteafter the shipment, a space to remove the backplate is required, and inplaces where this space is not available, these operations are verytroublesome. For this reason, there has been a demand for a structurethat enables easy attachment and removal of the automatic documentfeeder.

Moreover, connecting apparatuses for electrical cables are required tohave a connecting structure that can withstand a tensile strength of 10kgf that acts as an external force, and therefore, with respect to thestability, a more stable structure has also been in demand.

As an example of a connecting apparatus for an electrical cable, JP2003-51683A discloses an electrical cable attachment apparatus.

This electrical cable attachment apparatus is configured so that inorder to electrically connect a main body unit to an automatic documentsupply unit that is coupled at its one end to the main body unit via ahinge unit so that it can be opened/closed, an electrical cable from themain body unit is connected to the automatic document supply unit, andthe electrical cable attachment apparatus has a structure in which theelectrical cable is connected to a connector on a board provided in theautomatic document supply unit and is fixed to the board by a wirebundling band.

This electrical cable attachment apparatus disclosed in JP 2003-51683Afacilitates assembly of the electrical cable and the board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, even in the case of the electrical cable attachment apparatusdisclosed in JP 2003-51683A, to attach the electrical cable to the mainbody unit, it is necessary to remove the entire backplate on a back sideof the main body unit, and in places where an open space to remove thebackplate is not available, there is a problem in that the operationsfor attaching the electrical cable to the main body side or removing theelectrical cable therefrom inevitably become very troublesome.

Moreover, in the electrical cable attachment apparatus disclosed in JP2003-51683A, since the electrical cable is fixed to the board, there isa possibility that if some external force is applied to the electricalcable, the board may also be damaged, and the problem of stability stillremains unsolved.

The present invention has been contrived to solve the problems asdescribed above, and it is an object thereof to provide an electricalcable connecting apparatus that is configured so that when an electricalcable extending from a first apparatus is attached to an apparatus mainbody side serving as a second apparatus, the attachment (or the removal)can be easily performed without the need to remove a backplate, and thathas a structure providing a sufficient attachment strength, a method forconnecting an electrical cable, and an image forming apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an electrical cableconnecting apparatus of the present invention is an electrical cableconnecting apparatus including a first apparatus, and a second apparatusthat is mounted on the first apparatus, and having a configuration inwhich a cable-side connector provided at a front end of an electricalcable extending from the second apparatus is removably connected to aboard-side connector provided on a circuit board of the first apparatus,wherein an opening portion is provided in a housing of the firstapparatus at a position opposing the board-side connector, a lid thatcovers the opening portion is attached to a front end portion of theelectrical cable by an attachment member, and the lid is configured tobe attachable to the opening portion by a fixing member in a state inwhich the cable-side connector is connected to the board-side connector.

With the electrical cable connecting apparatus of the present invention,for example, when the second apparatus is removed from the firstapparatus, it is not necessary to remove entirely a face (e.g., abackplate) of the housing that is disposed opposing the board-sideconnector, and the cable-side connector of the electrical cable attachedto the lid can be easily removed from the board-side connector simply byremoving only the lid from the opening portion. Moreover, since theelectrical cable is attached and fixed to the lid by the attachmentmember, even if some external force is applied to the electrical cable,this external force is first applied to the attachment member on the lidand is not directly applied to a connecting portion between theconnectors, and therefore there is no risk that the circuit board andthe board-side connector may be damaged.

Moreover, when the second apparatus is mounted on the first apparatus,it is only required that the second apparatus, with the lid attached tothe electrical cable, is mounted on the first apparatus, thereafter, thecable-side connector of the electrical cable is connected to theboard-side connector of the first apparatus, and the lid is attached andfixed to the opening portion by the fixing member. Thus, the attachmentoperation is simple.

Moreover, according to the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thepresent invention, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in whichthe opening portion and the lid are each formed into a rectangularshape, and the fixing member includes a hook that is provided on oneside edge portion of the lid and is for engaging with a side edgeportion of the opening portion, and a screw fixing portion that isprovided on another side edge portion side opposing the one side edgeportion of the lid and is for fixing to a main body side of the firstapparatus.

With this configuration, as a result of using the hook as one componentof the fixing member, fixing by screwing is only required on the otherside, and accordingly the operation for attaching the lid is simplified.Moreover, since the other side is fixed by screwing, even if someexternal force is applied, the possibility that the circuit board andthe board-side connector may be damaged can be reduced, because the liditself is firmly fixed.

Moreover, according to the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thepresent invention, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in whichthe attachment member is provided on a rear face of the lid at aposition between the hook and the screw fixing portion and toward thescrew fixing portion.

With this configuration, an external force that is applied to theelectrical cable for some reason can be received by the attachmentmember and the screw fixing portion of the fixing member, and thus thepossibility that the circuit board and the board-side connector may bedamaged can be reduced.

Moreover, according to the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thepresent invention, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in whichan opening-side cable outlet portion through which the electrical cableextends to the outside is provided in the opening portion, and when thelid is attached to the opening portion, the opening-side cable outletportion is disposed in the vicinity of the screw fixing portion of thelid.

With this configuration, if some external force is applied to theelectrical cable, the load of this external force will first be appliedto an edge portion of the lid in the vicinity of a cable outlet portion,but there is no risk that the lid may become detached from the openingportion, because the screw fixing portion is located in the vicinity ofthis edge portion of the lid and is firmly fixed to the main body sideof the first apparatus. Moreover, since the electrical cable is firmlyattached to the lid by the attachment member that is disposed in thevicinity of the screw fixing portion, the applied external force is notdirectly applied to the connecting portion between the connectors.Therefore, damage to the circuit board and the board-side connector canbe prevented.

Moreover, according to the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thepresent invention, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in whicha lid-side cable outlet portion through which the electrical cableextends to the outside is provided in the lid at a position of a sideedge portion opposing the opening-side cable outlet portion, and thelid-side cable outlet portion is disposed in the vicinity of the screwfixing portion.

With this configuration, if some external force is applied to theelectrical cable, the load of this external force will first be appliedto an edge portion of the lid-side cable outlet portion of the lid, butthere is no risk that the lid may become detached from the openingportion, because the screw fixing portion is located in the vicinity ofthe edge portion of this lid-side cable outlet portion and is firmlyfixed to the main body side of the first apparatus. Moreover, since theelectrical cable is firmly attached to the lid by the attachment memberthat is disposed in the vicinity of the screw fixing portion, theapplied external force is not directly applied to the connecting portionbetween the connectors. Therefore, damage to the circuit board and theboard-side connector can be prevented.

Moreover, according to the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thepresent invention, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in whichthe screw fixing portion has a structure where both sides of theelectrical cable are fixed. In this manner, by employing a structure inwhich the screw fixing portion is fixed on both sides of the electricalcable in the vicinity of the lid-side cable outlet portion, it ispossible to strengthen a force for fixing the electrical cable againstan external force even more.

Moreover, according to the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thepresent invention, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in whicha positioning means that determines an arrangement position of theelectrical cable is provided between the lid-side cable outlet portionand the attachment member. In this manner, as a result of providing thepositioning means, it is possible to properly position and fix theelectrical cable on the rear face of the lid.

Moreover, a method for connecting an electrical cable of the presentinvention that uses an electrical cable connecting apparatus having theabove-described configuration includes the steps of attaching the frontend portion of the electrical cable to the lid by the attachment member,connecting the cable-side connector of the electrical cable with the lidattached thereto to the board-side connector, and fixing the lid to theopening portion of the housing by the fixing member.

With this feature, after the cable-side connector is connected to theboard-side connector, the electrical cable can also be fixed simply byattaching the lid to the opening portion. That is to say, after thecable-side connector is connected to the board-side connector, theprocess for attaching the electrical cable to the main body side of thefirst apparatus or the rear face of the lid can be omitted, and themanufacturing process can be simplified accordingly.

Moreover, in an image forming apparatus including an electrical cableconnecting apparatus having the above-described configuration, an imageforming apparatus main body including at least an image formationportion and a scanner portion can be used as the first apparatus, and anautomatic document feeder can be used as the second apparatus.

According to the present invention, when the automatic document feederis removed from the image forming apparatus main body, with regard tothe electrical cable, it is only required to remove the lid from thehousing of the image forming apparatus main body, and thus the removaloperation is facilitated. Moreover, also when the automatic documentfeeder is replaced, an automatic document feeder with the lid attachedto the electrical cable is brought to the installation site of the imageforming apparatus and mounted on the image forming apparatus main bodyat the site, and with regard to the electrical cable, it is onlyrequired that the cable-side connector of the electrical cable isinserted through the opening portion provided in the back face of thehousing and connected to the board-side connector, and in this state,the lid is fixed to the opening portion. Thus, the operation forreplacing the automatic document feeder is also facilitated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of theconfiguration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a back view showing a part of the image forming apparatusaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a rear face of a lid to which a front endportion of an electrical cable is attached.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a front face of the lid to which the frontend portion of the electrical cable is attached.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing an opening portion and itssurroundings.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a process for attaching the lidto the opening portion.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG.2.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of anelectrical cable attachment member that uses a resin band.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of theconfiguration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodimentof the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a back view thereof.

An image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an apparatus thatforms multicolor and monochromatic images on a predetermined sheet(recording paper) according to image data and the like that have beentransmitted from the outside, and is constituted by an image formingapparatus main body (hereinafter simply referred to as “apparatus mainbody”) 2 provided with at least an image formation portion 2B and ascanner portion 2A, and an automatic document feeder 3. That is to say,in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus main body 2 correspondsto “first apparatus” and “another apparatus” as set forth in the claims,and the automatic document feeder 3 corresponds to “second apparatus”and “one apparatus” as set forth in the claims.

The automatic document feeder 3 automatically conveys a document onto aplaten 4 that is formed of hard, transparent glass and disposed in anupper portion of the apparatus main body 2. Moreover, the automaticdocument feeder 3 is configured so as to be pivotable in the directionof arrow M, so that a document can be manually placed on the platen 4 byopening a space above the platen 4.

The scanner portion 2A reads an image of a document placed on the platen4, or of a document fed from the automatic document feeder 3, by a CCDsensor 88 via a lamp unit 83, mirrors 84 to 86, and a lens unit 87, andsends image data on the read image to the image formation portion 2B.

Image data that is handled in the image formation portion 2B correspondsto color images that respectively use the colors black (K), cyan (C),magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Accordingly, four chargers 6, fourdevelopers 7, four photosensitive drums (hereinafter referred to as“photosensitive members”) 8, and four cleaner units 9 are provided so asto form four types of latent images corresponding to the respectivecolors, and are respectively set for K, C, M, and Y.

An exposure unit 5 has a function of exposing the photosensitive members8 charged by the respective chargers 6 to a light beam in accordancewith image data and the like that have been input, thereby formingelectrostatic latent images corresponding to the image data on thesurface of the photosensitive members 8.

The chargers 6 are charging means for uniformly charging the surface ofthe respective photosensitive members 8 to a predetermined potential.The developers 7 develop the electrostatic latent images formed on thesurface of the respective photosensitive members 8 into visible imageswith four color (Y, M, C, and K) toners. Moreover, the cleaner units 9remove and collect toners remaining on the surface of the respectivephotosensitive member 8 after the development and image transfer.

An intermediate transfer belt unit 10 that is disposed above thephotosensitive members 8 has a function of successively transferring andsuperposing the toner images in the respective colors that have beenformed on the photosensitive members 8 onto an intermediate transferbelt 11, which is an intermediate transfer member provided so as to makecontact with each photosensitive member 8, thereby forming a color tonerimage (multicolor toner image). The intermediate transfer belt 11 isstretched and driven by an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 12,an intermediate transfer belt idler roller 13, and intermediate transferrollers 14. The transfer of toner images from the photosensitive members8 onto the intermediate transfer belt 11 is performed by theintermediate transfer rollers 14 that are in contact with an inner sideof the intermediate transfer belt 11. A high-voltage transfer bias (ahigh voltage of opposite polarity (−) from the charge polarity (−) ofthe toners) is applied to the intermediate transfer rollers 14 in orderto transfer the toner images.

As described above, the electrostatic images that have been developedinto visible images corresponding to the respective hues on the surfaceof the photosensitive members 8 are laminated on the intermediatetransfer belt 11. Due to the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt11, the laminated image information is transferred onto paper by atransfer roller 15 that is disposed in a position at which the papercomes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 11. At this time,the intermediate transfer belt 11 and the transfer roller 15 are broughtinto pressured contact with each other with a predetermined nippressure, and a voltage for transferring the toners onto the paper isapplied to the transfer roller 15 (a high voltage of opposite polarity(+) from the charge polarity (−) of the toners). Moreover, as describedabove, a toner that adhered to the intermediate transfer belt 11 as aresult of the contact with the photosensitive members 8 or a toner thatwas not transferred onto the paper by the transfer roller 15 and remainson the intermediate transfer belt 11 is removed and collected by anintermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 16.

A paper feed cassette 17 is a tray for storing sheets to be used forimage formation and is provided below the exposure unit 5 of theapparatus main body 2. In addition, a sheet can be set in a manual paperfeed cassette 18. Moreover, a paper discharge tray 19 that is providedin an upper portion of the apparatus main body 2 is a tray foraccumulating printed sheets facedown.

Moreover, a paper conveyance path S for conveying sheets from the paperfeed cassette 17 and the manual paper feed cassette 18 to the paperdischarge tray 19 via the transfer roller 15 and a fixing unit 20 isprovided in the apparatus main body 2. Pickup rollers 21, a plurality ofconveyance rollers 22, a registration roller 23, the transfer roller 15,the fixing unit 20, and the like are arranged in the vicinity of thepaper conveyance path S from the paper feed cassette 17 or the manualpaper feed cassette 18 to the paper discharge tray 19.

The conveyance rollers 22 are small rollers for promoting and assistingthe conveyance of sheets and are provided in a plurality of positionsalong the paper conveyance path S. Moreover, the pickup rollers 21 areprovided in the vicinity of respective end portions of the paper feedcassette 17 and the manual paper feed cassette 18, and pick up one sheetfrom the paper feed cassette 17 or the manual paper feed cassette 18 ata time and supply the sheet to the paper conveyance path S.

Moreover, the registration roller 23 is a roller that temporarily holdsthe sheet that is being conveyed along the paper conveyance path S. Theregistration roller 23 has a function of conveying the sheet to thetransfer roller 15 at a timing when a leading end of a toner image onthe surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 and a leading end ofthe sheet coincide with each other.

The fixing unit 20 has a function of fusing the toners bythermocompression onto the sheet with a heat roller 24 and a pressureroller 25, thereby melting, mixing, and bringing into pressured contactthe multicolor toner image that has been transferred onto the sheet tothermally fix the toner image to the sheet. Moreover, an externalheating belt 26 for externally heating the heat roller 24 is provided inthe fixing unit 20. As a result of the sheet passing through the fixingunit 20, the unfixed toners are melted and fixed to the sheet underheat, and this sheet is, for example, discharged onto the paperdischarge tray 19 via the conveyance roller 22 that is disposed alongthe paper conveyance path S downstream of the fixing unit 20.

In the image forming apparatus 1 having the above-describedconfiguration, according to this embodiment, an opening portion 30 towhich a lid 40 is attached is provided in an upper portion of a housingof the apparatus main body 2 on a back face 2 a side, and a cable-sideconnector provided at a front end of an electrical cable 50 that extendsto the outside from a back face side of the automatic document feeder 3is removably connected, through this opening portion 30, to a board-sideconnector of a circuit board that is disposed within the apparatus mainbody 2.

Hereinafter, a connecting apparatus for this electrical cable 50 will bespecifically described.

FIGS. 3 to 7 show a specific configuration of an electrical cableconnecting apparatus according to this embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagramshowing a rear face of a lid to which a front end portion of anelectrical cable is attached, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a front faceof the lid to which the front end portion of the electrical cable isattached, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an opening portion and itssurroundings, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a process forattaching the lid to the opening portion, FIG. 7 is a schematiccross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 is across-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 3.

In the electrical cable connecting apparatus of this embodiment, a frontend portion of the electrical cable 50 extending to the outside from theback face side of the automatic document feeder 3 is attached to therear face of the lid 40 by an attachment member 41 (see FIG. 3). That isto say, the front end portion of the electrical cable 50 and the lid 40are combined. Moreover, cable-side connectors 51 a and 51 b and agrounding terminal 51 c are provided at the front end of the electricalcable 50.

The lid 40 is formed into an oblong rectangular shape, and on oneshort-side side edge portion (the side edge portion on the right side inFIGS. 3 and 4) 40 a, a hook 42 that is for engaging with an engagementslot 32 of the opening portion 30, which will be described later, isprovided. Moreover, on the other side edge portion (the side edgeportion on the left side in FIGS. 3 and 4) 40 b, which is on theopposite side from the hook 42, a lid-side cable outlet portion 44 isprovided which is formed into a recessed shape in order to allow theelectrical cable 50 to extend to the outside. On the rear face of thelid 40 in the vicinity of this lid-side cable outlet portion 44, screwinsertion bosses (screw fixing portions) 45 having respective screwinsertion holes 45 a are provided in two positions vertically above andbelow the lid-side cable outlet portion 44.

The attachment member 41 is provided on the rear face of the lid 40 andbetween the hook 42 and the screw insertion bosses 45, and as shown inFIG. 8, the electrical cable 50 is laterally sandwiched by anapproximately U-shaped resin band 41 a, both end portions of the resinband 41 a are joined together, and in this state, a screw member 70 isinserted into screw insertion holes 41 b provided in those end portionsand is then screwed into a screw receiving portion 46 provided on therear face of the lid 40, and thus, the electrical cable 50 is attachedto the rear face of the lid 40. However, the attachment member 41 is notlimited to the approximately U-shaped resin band 41 a as describedabove, and alternatively, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a structuremay be adopted in which a resin band 41 e having in its central portiona semicircular arc-shaped retaining portion 41 e 1 that retains theelectrical cable 50 is used, screw members 70 are inserted throughrespective screw insertion holes 41 f provided in both end portions ofthe resin band 41 eand is then screwed into respective screw receivingportions 47 provided on the rear face of the lid 40, and thus theelectrical cable 50 is attached to the lid 40.

Moreover, between the lid-side cable outlet portion 44 and theattachment member 41 (the resin band 41 a), positioning ribs 48, whichserve as positioning means for determining a cable arrangement positionby holding the electrical cable 50 from above and below, are disposed inpositions adjacent to the respective screw insertion bosses 45 and areopposing each other.

On the other hand, the opening portion 30 is, as shown in FIG. 5, formedinto an oblong rectangular shape, and the engagement slot 32 forengaging with the hook 42 of the lid 40 is provided in a central portionof a left-side side edge portion 31 in a height direction (the verticaldirection in FIG. 5).

Moreover, a connector opening portion 34 is provided in a back face 33of the opening portion 30, and board-side connectors 61 a and 61 b of acircuit board 60 disposed within the apparatus main body 2 are providedso as to be positioned in this connector opening portion 34 and exposedinto the opening portion 30.

Moreover, screwing opening portions 36 are provided in the back face 33of the opening portion 30 above and below each other in the vicinity ofa right-side side edge portion 35, and in these screwing openingportions 36, screw holes 66 that are formed in a metal frame 65 disposedwithin the apparatus main body 2 are respectively disposed opposing eachother. That is to say, the screwing opening portions 36 are disposed sothat when the lid 40 is attached to the opening portion 30, they facethe respective screw insertion bosses 45, which are provided verticallyabove and below each other on the rear face of the lid 40, with thescrew holes 66 formed in the metal frame 65 facing the respective screwinsertion holes 45 a of the screw insertion bosses 45.

As described above, in this embodiment, a combination of the hook 42 andthe screw insertion bosses 45 is used as a fixing member that attachesand fixes the lid 40 to the opening portion 30. Thus, fixing by screwingis only required on the other side edge portion 40 b side of the lid 40where the screw insertion bosses 45 are provided, and accordingly, theoperation for attaching the lid 40 to the opening portion 30 issimplified. Moreover, since the other side edge portion 40 b side isfixed by screwing, even if some external force is applied, there is norisk that the circuit board 60 and the board-side connectors 61 a and 61b may be damaged, because the lid 40 itself is firmly fixed to theopening portion 30.

It should be noted that reference numeral 38 in FIG. 5 indicates agrounding screw for connecting the grounding terminal 51 c provided atthe front end of the electrical cable 50.

Moreover, in an approximately central portion of the right-side sideedge portion 35, which opposes the side edge portion 31 in which theengagement slot 32 is provided, an opening-side cable outlet portion 39is formed which is formed into a recessed shape (formed into asemi-conical shape) to allow the electrical cable 50 to extend frominside the opening portion 30 to the outside (or extend into the openingportion 30 from the outside).

Next, cable connecting procedures of the cable connecting apparatus thatemploys the lid 40 and the opening portion 30 having the above-describedconfiguration will be described.

First, the lid 40 is attached, with the attachment member, to the frontend portion of the electrical cable 50 extending from the automaticdocument feeder 3. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 8, the front endportion of the electrical cable 50 is laterally sandwiched by the resinband 41 a, which is formed into an approximately U-shape, the both endportions of the resin band 41 a are joined together, and in this state,the screw member 70 is inserted through the screw insertion holes 41 bprovided in those end portions and is then screwed into the screwreceiving portion 46 provided on the rear face of the lid 40. Theelectrical cable 50 is thus attached and fixed to the rear face of thelid 40. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the electrical cable 50located between the lid-side cable outlet portion 44 and the resin band41 a is positioned in such a manner so as to be held between thepositioning ribs 48. That is to say, the electrical cable 50 extendingto the outside from the lid 40 is arranged so as to pass through thelid-side cable outlet portion 44.

Then, in this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the cable-side connectors 51 aand 51 b provided at the front end of the electrical cable 50 areconnected to the board-side connectors 61 a and 61 b.

Then, in this state, the hook 42 of the lid 40 is laterally brought intoengagement with the engagement slot 32 of the opening portion 30, andthe lid 40 is installed in the opening portion 30 in such a manner thatthe lid 40 is pivoted at this engagement portion and pressed into theopening portion 30 side. At this time, the electrical cable 50 extendsout along an approximately circular arc-shaped (or oblongellipse-shaped) cable outlet portion formed by the approximatelysemicircular arc-shaped lid-side cable outlet portion 44 and theapproximately semicircular arc-shaped opening-side cable outlet portion39 opposing each other, and is naturally curved. Moreover, in thisstate, as shown in FIG. 7, respective front ends of the screw insertionbosses 45 of the lid 40 pass through the screwing opening portions 36formed in the back face 33 of the opening portion 30 and face the screwholes 66 formed in the metal frame 65.

Accordingly, in this state, the lid 40 is fixed to the opening portion30 by inserting screw members 71 into the respective screw insertionholes 45 a of the screw insertion bosses 45 from the front side of thelid 40 and then screwing them into the respective screw holes 66 of themetal frame 65.

It should be noted that to disconnect the electrical cable 50, the lid40 can be removed from the opening portion 30 by following theabove-described procedures in reverse.

With the electrical cable connecting apparatus of this embodiment, forexample, when the automatic document feeder 3 is removed from theapparatus main body 2, it is not necessary to remove the backplate 2 b(see FIG. 2) provided in the back face 2 a of the housing of theapparatus main body 2, and the cable-side connectors 51 a and 51 b ofthe electrical cable 50 attached to the lid 40 can be easily removedfrom the board-side connectors 61 a and 61 b by removing only the lid 40from the opening portion 30. Moreover, since the electrical cable 50 isattached to the lid 40 by the resin band 41 a, which is the attachmentmember 41, even if some external force is applied to the electricalcable 50 that is exposed to the outside, this external force is firstapplied to the resin band 41 a, which is the attachment member 41 on thelid 40, and then to the screw fixing portion formed by the screwinsertion holes 45 a of the screw insertion bosses 45 and the screwholes 66 of the metal frame 65. Accordingly, the external force is notdirectly applied to respective connecting portions between thecable-side connectors 51 a and 51 b and the board-side connectors 61 aand 61 b. Therefore, there is no risk that the circuit board 60 and theboard-side connectors 61 a and 61 b may be damaged.

Moreover, also when the automatic document feeder 3 is mounted on theapparatus main body 2, it is only required that the automatic documentfeeder 3, with the lid 40 attached to the electrical cable 50, ismounted on the apparatus main body 2, thereafter the cable-sideconnectors 51 a and 51 b with the lid 40 are connected to the board-sideconnectors 61 a and 61 b, and the lid 40 is attached and fixed to theopening portion 30. Therefore, the attachment operation is also simple.

Moreover, in the above-described connecting procedures, the electricalcable 50 can also be fixed simply by attaching the lid 40 to the openingportion 30. That is to say, after the cable-side connectors 51 a and 51b are connected to the board-side connectors 61 a and 61 b, the processfor attaching the electrical cable 50 to the apparatus main body 2 canbe omitted, and the connecting process can be simplified accordingly.

Moreover, with the cable connecting apparatus of this embodiment, thescrew insertion bosses 45 are arranged on both sides of the electricalcable 50. In this manner, by employing a structure in which the screwinsertion bosses 45 are arranged on both sides of the electrical cable50 and fixed to the metal frame 65 in the vicinity of the lid-side cableoutlet portion 44, it is possible to strengthen a force for fixing theelectrical cable 50 against an external force even more.

Moreover, with the electrical cable connecting apparatus of thisembodiment, a configuration is employed in which the positioning ribs 48that determine the arrangement position of the electrical cable 50 areprovided between the lid-side cable outlet portion 44 and the screwinsertion bosses 45. By providing the positioning ribs 48 in thismanner, it is possible to properly position the electrical cable 50 onthe rear face of the lid 40.

It should be noted that in the above-described embodiment, theelectrical cable 50 extends out from the left side of the back face ofthe automatic document feeder 3, is routed in a lateral direction, andenters the opening portion 30 on the right side of the back face of theapparatus main body 2 in such a manner that it bends back on itself, butthe manner in which the electrical cable 50 is routed varies dependingon the position of the circuit board that is provided on the apparatusmain body 2 side or the position at which the electrical cable 50extends out from the automatic document feeder 3. For example, in a casewhere the position at which the electrical cable 50 extends out from theautomatic document feeder 3 and the position at which the circuit boardon the apparatus main body 2 side is disposed are vertically one abovethe other, the electrical cable 50 can be simply routed down along asemicircular arc. In this case, the state in which the lid 40 and theopening portion 30 are arranged can also be changed to a state rotated90° in a clockwise direction from the state shown in FIG. 2.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, a case where the presentinvention is applied to an image forming apparatus has been described,but the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatusand is applicable to all the apparatuses having a configuration in whicha first apparatus and a second apparatus are electrically connected toeach other by an output cable that extends to the outside.

That is to say, the embodiment disclosed herein is to be considered inall respects as illustrative only and does not serve as the basis forrestrictive interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of thepresent invention should not be interpreted based on only theabove-described embodiment, and is defined by the appended claims.Furthermore, all changes which come within the meaning and scope ofequivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced by the technicalscope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electrical cable connecting apparatuscomprising a first apparatus, and a second apparatus that is mounted onthe first apparatus, and having a configuration in which a cable-sideconnector provided at a front end of an electrical cable extending fromthe second apparatus is removably connected to a board-side connectorprovided on a circuit board of the first apparatus, wherein an openingportion is provided in a housing of the first apparatus at a positionopposing the board-side connector, a lid that covers the opening portionis attached to a front end portion of the electrical cable by anattachment member, and the lid is configured to be attachable to theopening portion by a fixing member in a state in which the cable-sideconnector is connected to the board-side connector.
 2. The electricalcable connecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the openingportion and the lid are each formed into a rectangular shape, and thefixing member includes a hook that is provided on one side edge portionof the lid and is for engaging with a side edge portion of the openingportion, and a screw fixing portion that is provided on another sideedge portion side opposing the one side edge portion of the lid and isfor fixing to a main body side of the first apparatus.
 3. The electricalcable connecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the attachmentmember is provided on a rear face of the lid at a position between thehook and the screw fixing portion and toward the screw fixing portion.4. The electrical cable connecting apparatus according to claim 2,wherein an opening-side cable outlet portion through which theelectrical cable extends to the outside is provided in the openingportion, and when the lid is attached to the opening portion, theopening-side cable outlet portion is disposed in the vicinity of thescrew fixing portion of the lid.
 5. The electrical cable connectingapparatus according to claim 4, wherein a lid-side cable outlet portionthrough which the electrical cable extends to the outside is provided inthe lid at a position of a side edge portion opposing the opening-sidecable outlet portion, and the lid-side cable outlet portion is disposedin the vicinity of the screw fixing portion.
 6. The electrical cableconnecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the screw fixingportion has a structure where both sides of the electrical cable arefixed.
 7. The electrical cable connecting apparatus according to claim5, wherein a positioning means that determines an arrangement positionof the electrical cable is provided between the lid-side cable outletportion and the attachment member.
 8. A method for connecting anelectrical cable of an electrical cable connecting structure having aconfiguration in which a cable-side connector provided at a front end ofan electrical cable extending from one apparatus is removably connectedto a board-side connector provided on a circuit board of anotherapparatus, wherein an opening portion is provided in a housing of theanother apparatus at a position opposing the board-side connector, a lidthat covers the opening portion is attached to a front end portion ofthe electrical cable by an attachment member, and the lid is configuredso as to be attachable to the opening portion by a fixing member in astate in which the cable-side connector is connected to the board-sideconnector, the method comprising the steps of: attaching the front endportion of the electrical cable to the lid by the attachment member;connecting the cable-side connector of the electrical cable with the lidattached thereto to the board-side connector; and fixing the lid to theopening portion of the housing by the fixing member.
 9. An image formingapparatus comprising the electrical cable connecting apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is an image forming apparatusmain body including at least an image formation portion and a scannerportion, and the second apparatus is an automatic document feeder.